Richard J. Bernstein

Educating for Shalom

Discipleship & Christian Education

“I have known Nick Wolterstorff for almost fifty years, and I have always admired his rare combination of Christian commitment, high standards of argument and clarity, imagination, aesthetic sensibility, and serious commitment to social justice. It is a joy to read these well-crafted essays about the character and purpose of a faith-based higher education. I do not know of anyone who writes about these complex issues with as much intelligence, care, lucidity, and humane sensitivity.”

Who Are We?

“Jean Bethke Elshtain has a rare ability to integrate serious theological speculation with acute political and social commentary. Beginning with a meditative reflection on the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and John Paul II, she perceptively analyzes both 'Who Are We?' and 'How Far Have We Fallen?' Focusing on the sins of pride and sloth, she seeks to show their relevance to some of the most pressing issues of the day: rampant economic greed, eugenics and cloning, the pervasiveness and perniciousness of a rational choice mentality, the failure to realize the work required for genuinely loving children, the teenage explosion of gratuitous murder, and the acceptance and increasing use of the death penalty. With wit and humane sensitivity, Elshtain demonstrates her living Christian faith by showing how it is relevant to the moral dilemmas that we all confront every day. She has a knack for getting to the heart of issues by presenting these in a most vivid manner. Her prose is always lively and makes powerful use of concrete examples, including recent films. I suspect that some readers will be delighted with her forcefully expressed judgments and others will be outraged. But all will agree that — in the best sense — Elshtain is always thought-provoking.”